A native Michigander now calling Kansas City home, Dr. Ian Lester (b. 1994) is an educator, composer, and euphoniumist. Ian is the director of music at the Frontier School of Excellence in Kansas City, MO where he teaches both middle and high school band and music courses. Ian also teaches through the UMKC Conservatory Bridges program where he provides private music lessons to brass students in low-income areas throughout the greater Kansas City area. Ian’s compositions have been described as "high energy", "innovative" and "very thoughtful and concise" (International Tuba and Euphonium Association) and have been premiered by performers such as the North Texas Euphonium Quartet, the In Motus Tuba Quartet, the Julius String Quartet, the Factory Seconds Brass Trio, the Conviviality Trio, the SPLICE Ensemble, Brendan Ige, Doug Lindsey, Richard Demy, Irving Ray, and numerous other soloists and ensembles in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Fort Myer, and universities, conferences, and recital halls around the world. Ian's composition awards include winning the 2017 Pershing’s Own U.S. Army Band Tuba-Euphonium Composition Competition, the 2018 North Texas Euphonium Quartet Composition Competition, the 2021 Mirari Brass Call for Scores, being selected to attend the 2021 Julius String Quartet EMERGE Solstice Composition Workshop, winning the 2022 UMKC Composition Competition, the 2023 North Texas ITEA Chapter Composition Competition, and most recently, the 2023 ITEA R. Winston Morris Composition Award for tuba/euphonium ensemble. Ian has been a regular member of the Fountain City Brass Band and the Fountain City United Brass Band, winning top prizes at the North American Brass Band Championships with both groups in multiple years.
Ian is a founding Troubled Euphs, a euphonium trio which aims to commission, promote, and perform new music for euphonium trio by living composers. Within the first three years of their existence, the trio has commissioned ten new works for the medium, several of which were composed by local Kansas City-area composers. The trio has been recognized for their talents and musicianship, earning a 4th place finish at the North American Brass Band Association chamber ensemble competition, and being invited as semi-finalists for the small ensemble competition at the 2023 International Tuba Euphonium Conference in Tempe, Arizona. The Troubled Euphs have performed at the 2024 South Central Regional Tuba Euphonium conference at the University of Memphis, the 2024 Southeast Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference at Middle Tennessee State University, the 2025 U.S. Army Band Tuba/Euphonium Workshop in Arlington, VA, and the 2026 Midwest Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference in Kansas City, MO. The Troubled Euphs are excited to release their debut album Here Comes Trouble! in the near future.
Ian's primary euphonium teachers are Kenneth Kroesche, Tom Stein, Lee Harrelson, and for composition, Terry Herald, Ben Fuhrman, Paul Rudy, Yotam Haber, Chen Yi, and Zhou Long. In his free time, Ian enjoys playing table tennis, fishing, and spending time with his fiancé Madeline.
Ian is a founding Troubled Euphs, a euphonium trio which aims to commission, promote, and perform new music for euphonium trio by living composers. Within the first three years of their existence, the trio has commissioned ten new works for the medium, several of which were composed by local Kansas City-area composers. The trio has been recognized for their talents and musicianship, earning a 4th place finish at the North American Brass Band Association chamber ensemble competition, and being invited as semi-finalists for the small ensemble competition at the 2023 International Tuba Euphonium Conference in Tempe, Arizona. The Troubled Euphs have performed at the 2024 South Central Regional Tuba Euphonium conference at the University of Memphis, the 2024 Southeast Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference at Middle Tennessee State University, the 2025 U.S. Army Band Tuba/Euphonium Workshop in Arlington, VA, and the 2026 Midwest Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference in Kansas City, MO. The Troubled Euphs are excited to release their debut album Here Comes Trouble! in the near future.
Ian's primary euphonium teachers are Kenneth Kroesche, Tom Stein, Lee Harrelson, and for composition, Terry Herald, Ben Fuhrman, Paul Rudy, Yotam Haber, Chen Yi, and Zhou Long. In his free time, Ian enjoys playing table tennis, fishing, and spending time with his fiancé Madeline.
